Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
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Pain is the primary indication for both primary and revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA); however, most arthroplasty outcome measures do not take pain into account. ⋯ The number of comorbidities predicted the presence of pain at 24 months follow-up and, for the first time, preoperative PCS scores were shown to predict chronic postoperative pain. This may enable the identification of knee arthroplasty patients at risk for persistent postoperative pain, thus allowing for efficient administration of preoperative interventions to improve arthroplasty outcomes.
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To examine the hypothesis that experimental threats to social belongingness, interacting with individual differences in attachment security, cause modification of pain threshold reports by individuals who report high pain thresholds at baseline. ⋯ Across studies, results suggested that postmanipulation pain threshold reports of individuals with high baseline pain thresholds were particularly responsive to social exclusion. The form of the response was dependent on the level of anxious attachment. The present studies provide evidence that variance in pain threshold reports not accounted for by pain intensity may reflect the use of pain reports to satisfy social needs. This work also suggests that baseline measures of pain thresholds may, in interaction with psychological variables, have predictive power beyond serving as a control variable.
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There are many measures assessing related dimensions of the chronic pain experience (eg, pain severity, pain coping, depression, activity level), but the relationships among them have not been systematically established. ⋯ Seven meaningful dimensions of the pain experience were reliably and systematically extracted. Implications and future directions for this work are discussed.
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Within the past 10 years, cognitive-behavioural pain management models have moved beyond the traditional focus on coping strategies and perceived control over pain, to incorporate mindfulness- and acceptance-based approaches. Pain acceptance is the process of giving up the struggle with pain and learning to live life despite pain. Acceptance is associated with lower levels of pain, disability and psychological distress. Relatively little is known, however, about how patients arrive at a state of acceptance without the aid of therapy. ⋯ The implications of these findings, distinctions between the diagnostic groups and recommendations regarding how health professionals can facilitate the process of acceptance are discussed.